On today's episode, how tithing can lead to a massive vision. Welcome back to the Theology of Business Podcast. I'm your host, Darren Shear, author of the book Marketing Like Jesus, and the forthcoming book, The Marketplace Christian, a practical guide to using your spiritual gifts and business, which releases October the 21st. And this is a show that helps marketplace Christians to partner with God in business, to transform the marketplace, and make an impact in eternity. The Theology of Business Podcast is proudly sponsored by High Bridge Books, which provides professional book publishing and author coaching services for inspiring thought leaders. You can take the next step toward getting your book published by requesting our free three video author training course at highbridgebooks.com forward slash course. And now, on to today's episode. Do you ever feel like you're stuck in a trap of small thinking? Personally and professionally speaking, do you lack a big vision for your life and you just want to think bigger in general? If so, I have something that might help. It's something that's helped me. It's called tithing. That's right, the biblical practice of returning the first 10% of your income to God. You probably heard the story of when Abram tithed in the book of Genesis, but do you realize what happened immediately after he tithed? After experiencing victory on the battlefield during the war against the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abram felt compelled by love and gratitude. It wasn't just sort of this uh legalistic sense of obligation. He was compelled by love and gratitude to honor God by returning the first ten percent of the spoils of victory to God, who was the one he viewed as the source of that victory. And he did this by returning the tithe to God through Melchizedek, who it says in Genesis was a priest of God most high. The New Testament explains this process as follows in Hebrews chapter seven verse eight. Again, this is in the New Testament. It says, Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he who is he? That's Jesus, our great high priest, just like Melchizedek, there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. In other words, when we tithe, we're tithing directly to Jesus. After tithing to God through Melchizedek, Abram's loyalty to God was immediately tested. It says in Genesis fourteen, verse twenty-one, the King of Sodom said to Abram, Give the people to me and take the goods for yourself. Abram said to the King of Sodom, I have sworn to the Lord God most high, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong of anything that is yours, for fear you would say, I have made Abram rich. Abram viewed God as his source, not himself, and certainly didn't view some wicked king as his source. Not only does tithing test our love and loyalty to God, it tests whether or not we consider God as our source. Having tithe to God, Abram's loyalty was confirmed despite the invitation to put riches before God and others. So if you are your source, keep the tithe. But if God is your source, return the tithe to him. Just be advised that God is a much more reliable source for what you need in your life than you are. But what happened, so this is a I've I've shared kind of the background of this is what happened when Abram tithed. What happened immediately after Abram tithe, the very next event? What happened after Abram tithe reveals a powerful byproduct of tithing, which is a massive vision. It says in Genesis chapter fifteen, starting in verse one, after these things, what are these things? That's the account of Abram's tithe. The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you, your reward shall be very great. Now look toward the heavens and count the stars if you're able to count them, so shall your descendants be. Then he believed in the Lord and he reckoned it to him as righteousness. So if Abram would have accepted what the king of Sodom was offering in exchange for his loyalty to God, he wouldn't have had the faith to expect greater acts and revelations from God. Because Abram tithed, he was prepared to resist the temptation to credit anything but God as the source of his victory and provision. And as a result, Abram's trust in God increased, opening his eyes to behold God's incredible destiny for his life and for his people. Again, it said, Now look toward the heavens and count the stars if you're able to count them. That's how many your descendants are going to be. I mean, if he didn't view God as his source, how could he have possibly believed God for something so massive? Tithing isn't merely a financial issue, it helps to prepare us for fulfilling the will of God in every aspect of our lives. It's a constant expression of our dependence on God that enables us to believe God for greater things concerning our businesses, our relationships, our health, our finances, and much more. Tithing prepares us to receive God's vision for our personal and professional lives. It's a habit of faith that helps us to believe God for the impossible, not merely for what we can achieve or believe through our unreliable source of our feeble human strength. No, by tithing, we are acknowledging God is my source, God is my source of provision, God is my source of what is possible. The Bible says in Leviticus chapter 27, verse 30, and now we're going back to the Old Testament. I quoted from Hebrews just a moment ago, it says, all the tithe of the land is the Lord's. That's just the way it is. At no point in history has this reality become less of a reality. All the tithe of the land is the Lord's. That has not changed. Period. That's because God is the source of all. Again, if you are your source, keep the tithe. If God is your source, give him the tithe. Because he is the source of all. Psalm twenty-four verse one the earth is the Lord's and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it. So each time we receive a financial blessing, God eagerly waits to see if we'll express our reliance on him by returning the first ten percent of each paycheck, dividend, gift, inheritance, or whatever form that material resource comes in. He wants to know whether or not we will acknowledge him as our source, or whether we'll acknowledge ourselves as our own counterfeit sources of provision. So here's the discussion: do you tithe? And if so, has tithing helped you to think bigger, knowing that your source for everything is God? I hope you've enjoyed this episode and I hope to hear your feedback at theologyofbusiness.com, where you can get more information about marketplace ministry, spiritual gifts in the marketplace, marketing like Jesus, and Christ centered leadership and entrepreneurship. If you have any questions or comments about the show or any of the episodes, feel free to email me at Darren at highbridgebooks.com. Thanks for listening and keep partnering with God in your business.